Unique Life Science Center Rises from the Desert
Arizona State University has created a multidisciplinary lab that it plans to use to build a world-class biotechnology infrastructure for the area.
| “The phoenix flies far ahead to the front, always scanning the landscape and distant space. It represents our capacity for vision, for collecting sensory information about our environment, and the events unfolding within it. The phoenix, with its great beauty, creates intense excitement and deathless inspiration.” —The Feng Shui Handbook |
Like the mythical bird noted above, the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) located in Tempe, just southeast of Phoenix, very quickly has established an “intense excitement” within the life science research community. The Institute was founded in 2002 and housed initially in temporary quarters, so long before its current facility was completed, its administrators were able to scan the research community and collect a core group of world-class intellectual re-searchers. They’re now building upon that R&D infrastructure within their newly occupied research facility.
The structure that is the Biodesign Institute boasts a design that promotes interdisciplinary research, laboratory flexibility, operational sustainability, support for advanced science and technology development, researcher recruitment, and aesthetic design. The Biodesign Institute is clearly a unique facility and the recipient of this year’s R&D Magazine Laboratory of the Year award. The 2006 Lab of the Year awards are particularly notable in that this is the 40th annual awards presentation, which were presented to the lab designers and owners in an awards ceremony and reception at R&D’s Laboratory Design Conference in Atlanta on April 4, 2006.
A vision and a plan
It’s particularly fitting that the Biodesign Institute is the 40th Lab of the Year, because the Institute represents more than just a well-designed and planned facility. Like the phoenix, the Biodesign Institute is the embodiment of Arizona’s vision for what the state wants to become in the future—a global center for life science research and commerce. Bud Guest, SVP at McCarthy Building Companies, St. Louis, Mo., and a judge in this year’s competition recognized this value. “With its excellent functionality and truly multidisciplinary design, the Biodesign Institute is destined to make a positive contribution to development of the biotech industry in Arizona,” he says.
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Over the past several years, ASU has been transformed into what its administrators term as a New American University. Funded by a voter-approved tax supporting university research and driven by a dynamic university president with a far-reaching vision, ASU has become one of the premier metropolitan public research universities in the nation—indeed, in the Fall 2005, ASU was ranked as the largest U.S. university with more than 51,700 students (re: National Center for Educational Statistics Enrollment). And a substantial part of that transformation has been the creation of the Biodesign Institute.
For their part, Institute researchers work on complex projects and seek an accelerated pace of discovery, with the structure and function of living systems serving as a common starting point. That said, the majority of research being conducted at the Biodesign Institute is organized around four key systems, each with a unifying strategic focus—biological systems, nanoscale systems, cognitive systems, and sustainable systems. There are a number of research centers that are already operating within the Institute that fit this focus:
• Center for Adaptive Neural Systems
• Center for Applied NanoBioscience
• Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors
• Center for Cancer Research
• Center for Environmental Biotechnology
• Center for Evolutionary Functional Genomics
• Center for Glycosciences and Technology
• Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology
• Center for Innovations in Medicine
• Center for Neural Interface Design
These centers house multiple research teams that work collaboratively with other teams to solve complex problems. More than 20 advanced research centers are expected to be housed within the Institute’s final four-building complex.
Lay of the land
The Biodesign Institute occupies a 13-acre site and serves as the new eastern gateway to the ASU campus. It is situated at the terminus of the major university mall that connects the science departments and ASU’s Cancer Research Institute.
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This year’s winning laboratory facility is actually the first two (Buildings A and B) of four planned buildings on the site that will make up the final configuration of the Biodesign Institute. Buildings A and B have 32,550 m2 (350,000 ft2) of research space, while the planned buildings C and D will add another 40,900 m2 (440,000 ft2) to increase the overall Institute size to a total of 73,400 m2 (790,000 ft2). Construction of Buildings C and D is pending approval of additional state funding.
Interdisciplinary uniqueness
“This building is very unique, there are no others like it…there’s a cross mixture of people in engineering, physics, chemistry, and biology,” says Roy Curtiss, co-director of the Institute’s Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. That’s the view from the inside.
The view from the outside—from the judges for the 40th Annual Lab of the Year competition—was very similar. “In an era of unwarranted external pressures undermining faith in science to solve our most pressing problems, along comes a facility like the Biodesign Institute that reaffirms the leadership role of science as progressive, relevant, and forward looking,” says Jeff Schantz, VP Science + Technology at HOK, Atlanta, Ga. “This is truly a paradigm-shifting facility.”
Dennis Brewer, EVP at LCS Constructors, Houston, Texas, agreed, stating, “As I looked through this building’s transparency, it became obvious that this facility not only met all areas of judging criteria, but set the bar very high for the next round of laboratory facilities. This facility got my vote, not only because of the pleasing and photogenic characteristics of the exterior and interior, but mainly due to the infrastructure characteristics of the lab, support areas, and plant operations.”
Richard Rietz, a lab design consultant in Helena, Mont., also admired the multidisciplinary interaction. “This building is a new paradigm in providing university research space,” he says. “Buildings are no longer exclusively departmental and labs no longer belong to faculty forever. Each research group at the Institute must be part of the larger whole, and the facility is designed and built to support that philosophy.”
Kevin Gilkison, Director of Ventilation Technologies at Labconco Corp., Kansas City, Mo., similarly recognized the value of the open lab approach. “The Biodesign Institute was very unique in the openness of its labs. This concept allows for the development of new interactions which should create new products for the future.”
Design details
As interdisciplinary research is at the heart of the Institute’s overall strategy, it also befittingly served as the inspiration for the building’s design. The architectural team of Lord, Aeck & Sargent, Atlanta, Ga., and Gould Evans, Phoenix, Az. “used all of the tools of modern lab design to pull it all together,” says Rietz. A carefully designed atrium skylight, for example, brings diffused daylight into the meeting and communal areas and allows natural light to spill into the lab, office areas, and lower level of the building.
A four-story atrium connects Building A to Building B both vertically and horizontally, and also serves as a central spine to the combined structure. Labs, offices, and conference spaces all surround this atrium, encouraging interaction at every level—between buildings, floors, and people. A glass wall creates a transparent separation between the atrium and the office area. The office ceilings are sloped up from the atrium to the exterior curtain wall, helping to promote natural daylight, and expanded garden views on the east side of the complex.
The research labs are modeled with open designs in an effort to promote flexibility and rapid adaptability for the changing nature of research and scientific instruments. These labs are directly west of and visible from the atrium and the office spaces. This transparency was intended by the architects to encourage an open culture that invites dialogue and the exchange of ideas.
Lab support areas are located between the open labs and a lab support corridor on the west side of the buildings. These support areas are divided into three types—one type directly associated with open lab research; another that houses classical support functions, like glass wash, cold rooms, and growth rooms, which don’t require users to pass through the open lab areas; and a third type that consists of equipment pass-throughs that connect the open labs with the west corridor lab support zone. All three lab support zones are immediately adjacent to a vertical service chase, providing convenient access to main utility risers. Utility systems are zoned for every two lab modules which allow modifications to be made within the support spaces with minimal effect on other parts of the building.
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Vibration and sustainability
Researchers working in nanotechnologies have become well aware of the special design considerations that their lab research now requires. Since nanotech research is a significant part of the Biodesign Institute’s mission, a significant portion of the research areas were constructed to produce vibration- and EMI- (electromagnetic interference) free environments.
Vibration and EMI control zones were created using 18-in (46-cm) concrete slab floors, condensed column spacing, and special construction methods. Mechanical ductwork and all ceiling plumbing utilities are suspended from a separate structural system and major electrical runs were routed around these sensitive areas. Even the elevator shaft was lined with 0.5-in (1.2-cm) thick, low-carbon steel to mitigate the EMI field generated when the elevator is moving.
Sustainability is another trend that has become important for new lab construction. The Biodesign Institute was envisioned as not only a state-of-the-art research facility, but also as a world-class green structure. Substantial modeling and analysis work was performed early in the project cycle to accommodate these requirements. As a result, Building B is LEED registered and targeting a Silver-Level Certification. Some of the sustainable features incorporated into the Institute include:
• Access to a new light rail human trans- port line
• Reflective roof membrane for heat mitigation
• High-albedo paving materials for heat mitigation
• Shade-based landscaping for heat mitigation
• Lighting modifications to minimize light pollution
• Native landscaping to reduce water use
• Water harvesting from air conditioning units
• Occupancy sensors that control office and lab lighting
• High-efficiency glass and envelop systems
• Use of ozone-friendly refrigerants in air conditioners
• Vertically zoned interior shade louvers
• 15% recycled content of project materials (exceeds LEED criteria)
• Whole building, two-week flush out to improve indoor air quality
Attention to operations
Safety and security are important issues within the Institute due to the nature of the research within the building, the expensive equipment involved, and the presence of biohazards and chemicals that are used. All visitors access the building through one security station in the north lobby area and are escorted through secure doorways. Employees can only access the building via biometric readers located at all entry points. The construction of the Institute complies with all Federal regulations, including new regulations for bio-research buildings brought about through the Patriot Act.
The storage and use of hazardous materials within the Institute are zoned by control areas—each floor constitutes a single control area. Hazardous substances within each of these areas are limited by code. Materials in excess of the code requirements are stored in special storage rooms that are distributed throughout the buildings. These rooms have dedicated exhaust systems, rated separations from the remainder of the building, and chemically resistant finishes.
ADA handicapped access is also provided throughout the Institute, and applies to door openings, lab furniture, work surfaces, and emergency eyewash and shower systems.
The results
Already, the Biodesign Institute appears to be living up to its design and vision. Research grants secured by the Institute in 2005 rose 121%, far exceeding its goal of 25%. Recruitment as well rose in 2005 with the addition of 24 new faculty for a total of 105. Including faculty, post-docs, grad and undergraduate students, and technicians, the Institute now employs 489 individuals. Three spin-out biotech companies and 37 industrial partnerships have also been created so far by the Institute researchers.
“The Biodesign Institute is a showcase for every modern laboratory design feature, including open labs, core labs, vision glass, intercommunicating stairs, simple movable casework, linear equipment corridors, analytical equipment zones, personnel bridges, and overhead service carriers,” says Richard Rietz. “This is a giant experiment in science—to see whether a large non-departmental laboratory will quickly establish this university as a leading bioscience institution. The lab arrangement and vision opportunities are meant to force intergroup research. It will be fascinating to watch the Biodesign Institute to see if it produces in a decade what had taken others half a century to achieve.”
—Tim Studt
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